In advance of the U17 Women’s World Cup in Guanajuato, Mexico in July this year, a select group of female athletes – all in contention for the New Zealand U17 national team – have been invited to compete in a prestigious tournament in the United States.
The 12 athletes are: Chanel Enriquez-Paea, Bailey Flavell, Olivia Hastings, Keriana Hippolite, Pahlyss Hokianga, Jennifer Mailei, Taia McMechan, Ophelia Powell, Emma Rogers, Cassidy Thomson, Gia Vukona and Kodee Williams-Sefo.
These players travelled to Sacramento, California on Tuesday as part of a New Zealand U17 Women’s Select Team, who will represent their country in the ‘Elite Is Earned’ Spring Invitational from 19-21 April; the first time a New Zealand team has been invited to this tournament.
The U17 Women’s Select Team is being led by U17 Women’s national team assistant coaches Sarah Molina and Igor Cvjetkovic. This trip was made possible thanks to a grant from the International Olympic Committee, which covered the athlete’s travel to and from the tournament.
The tour began with a warmup game against the University of Hawaii on day one, with the Kiwis falling 63-67 in overtime. Next up will see the squad competing in five games over three days in the Spring Invitational, facing off against high-level US high school and AAU teams in the Upperclass division of the tournament.
Following the tournament, the team will visit the University of California, Berkeley a.k.a. Cal Berkeley. This signals the start of an ongoing relationship between Basketball New Zealand and Cal Berkeley – which is in addition to having a strong basketball program, is considered one of the top academic colleges globally.
The tour will also see many of these Kiwi athletes reunite with Chaz Franklin, the current Director of Player Development for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. Franklin travelled to Auckland earlier this year to conduct a multi-day training session with Kiwi athletes in contention for the NZ U17 Women’s national team; sharing his knowledge from a long basketball career as a player, coach and player developer.
BBNZ General Manager High Performance, Paul Downes says that this trip is a great opportunity to test these athletes against some of the best young female ballers on the US West Coast.
“It’s rare for our age group players to get the opportunity to play preparation games against overseas teams of this calibre; it can only help their preparation for the U17 World Cup in July, against the best age group teams from around the globe,” says Downes.
“The tournament will also serve as a litmus test to see if the US school environment is something these athletes and ready for – and can be competitive in. With college scouts in attendance, it will provide them with some great exposure ahead of a possible US collegiate career.”
Squad
Chanel Enriquez-Paea, Outside of NZ
Bailey Flavell, Harbour Basketball Association
Olivia Hastings, Outside of NZ
Keriana Hippolite, Outside of NZ
Pahlyss Hokianga, Basketball Hawkes Bay
Jennifer Mailei, Outside of NZ
Taia McMechan, Outside of NZ
Ophelia Powell, Canterbury Basketball Association
Emma Rogers, Tauranga Basketball Association
Cassidy Thomson, Outside of NZ
Gia Vukona, Outside of NZ
Kodee Williams-Sefo, Harbour Basketball Association
